When your parents dog, father's sister (your god mother), parents best friend and mother have all died within 10 days and the memory thief has knocked on your father's door. . . and he needs you to get through . . . you can still press on. When you beg God to take your mother because the ravages of cancer have left her lifeless and emaciated, he won't. . . .you can still press on. You can sit in your yard and hold your daughter's beloved dog that has just been hit by a car and beg for him to live, and he won't. He will die in your arms and you will not shed a ... View Post
The Cost Of The Cross
Snow. In April. Poor man's fertilizer. The temperature has dropped 30 degrees. The water has traveled outside it's boundaries. Warm air has given way to a bitter wind. Reminding us that winter has not had it's final say. It is Holy Week. For some, this means nothing. For me. It is everything. The journey Jesus took to the cross is the defining piece of my faith. He came into Jerusalem Hailed as King and left Jerusalem via the cross. He took on the dirty and broken; so that we might live. He died to save a wretch like me; when He himself was sinless. And as we ... View Post
I Want To Be Present; Right In The Here And Now
They move the drums. They are taking up space they say. The little girls are trying to organize the music room. All that is within me wants to scream. He had set them up. They are the way he had left them. .. that day. The last day he played. The last day he did anything on this earth. The bass drum ring damaged and in need of replacement. We had looked into getting it fixed; that last day he was here. The last day I have felt normal in 8 months. I slowly pull the drum set back out, away from the corner. I fight back tears. I keep my ... View Post
Being In It For The Long Haul
I am in this for the long haul. This journey, called life, is only a shadow of what is waiting. It demands endurance. We have a family moving out to farm alongside us. They are packing all they own and know and hauling it across this beautiful country. They have a long haul in front of them. This is a new culture and climate. Many adjustments. They need to be in this for the long haul. This journey in life. It is not easy. It is riddled with strife, heartache and shattered dreams. There is great beauty, and there is deep pain. Yet there is comfort and hope for the ... View Post
When The Snow Piles High And The Drifts Impassable
Pushing through the dark. Looking for the light. Holding tight the truth. Letting go the fear. Wondering how this new life works. Digging deep for strength. Resting in the One. Reaching for Hope. This journey continues to stretch me to the fullest. Each day, I seek to rest not in the what if's, but in the what I knows. When all is shaking around me, there is a calm. An assurance so sweet. The snow piles high and the drifts impassable. The wind howls. But yet the farmer presses on. The cows are milked. The rhythm of the day continues. It is that rhythm ... View Post
Are You Able To Run The Race With Perseverance?
Miss you so much. Don't know if I can handle next year without you. #brother This was Clarissa's face book post on June 20, 2013. It's the picture of them on the first day of school; his Senior year. Elijah had gone on a trip the day after graduation. We all missed him. Boot camp was coming and we knew we weren't prepared. He rarely left home. His presence always here. He wasn't one for sleepovers; preferring his bed to others. Little did we know. Clarissa and Thomas have devotions for Youth Group. The topic; Perseverance. With the Olympics permeating much of our ... View Post
